1957 Chevy Pickup - Driven Danish Duo: Part 1

Niels Vendelbo-Larsen from Denmark bought his first of about 20 Chevys at the age of 14. With help from his older brother, he drove it home where it sat until he turned 18 and could finally drive. That was many years and projects ago, and in 1989 Niels was on a trip to Southern California and found a '57 Chevy truck for sale in one of our local papers. It just so happened he sold a nice '57 Chevy car to finance his next project, which it looked like he'd found. After sorting out the paperwork, he drove his "new" '57 from Los Angeles to Miami and then north to Savanna, Georgia (a cross-country trip with no A/C), where it was shipped overseas. Niels said this about the trip: "You don't realize how big our country is until you drive across it." Amen!

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From 1989 to 1993, Niels spent many hours restoring the truck to mainly stock specs. He drove it as such around Denmark for about nine years before he got the urge to update it, which isn't as common overseas as it is here where there are many stock "purists." Nonetheless, Niels found and installed a complete front clip from a '78 Camaro with disc brakes and dropped spindles as well as a complete LS1 motor and matching 4L60 trans that he found in a wrecking yard there in Denmark, believe it or not. He left the GM drivetrain stock for the sake of reliability and is content with the 305 hp it doles out to a '98 Camaro rearend.

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His friends Frank and Henrik at Pro Body & Paint did the bodywork and paint the first time around, as well as the black repaint for the updated version you see here. The interior was fitted with leather-covered seats from an Astro van, an ididit column, new gauges, and Mercedes wool carpet. Niels chose Intro Wheels' Sport 5s in 20- and 22-inch sizes and picked suitable Pirelli rubber to match, all of which he got from Coolwheels in Denmark.

One of Niels' biggest dreams is to ship a vehicle that he built to the States and go to some shows, as well as just plain old cruising-let's hope it's this one!this one!